The Israeli government authorized even more troops and weaponry to be deployed to the Gaza-Israel border on Wednesday evening, as Palestinians in Gaza prepare for the one-year anniversary of the weekly protest movement known as the ‘Great March of Return’ on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Egyptian officials crossed the Erez border crossing from Israel into Gaza to work on negotiating a truce. Palestinian officials from every major faction have repeatedly stated their desire for a truce, but the Israeli government has not responded to the overtures for peace.

his first public appearance since the attack, on Wednesday evening. He said that the Palestinian resistance had made clear their intentions for peace, and that “The Occupying Power [Israel] has heard the message.” Now, he said, it is up to Israel to decide if they will go the way of war or peace.

The Egyptian officials are scheduled to be in Gaza overnight until Thursday. Israeli bombings, drone strikes, sound bombs and other weapons continue to be dropped on the Gaza Strip by the Israeli airforce.

The negotiators are from the Egyptian General Intelligence Service. They are said to have met with Israeli officials on Monday night, and had claimed at that time that a ceasefire was imminent – but Israeli bombardment continued without abatement through Tuesday and continuing into Wednesday.

On Friday, the weekly non-violent protest at the border between Gaza and Israel is scheduled to take place, and then on Saturday, Palestinians across Gaza, the West Bank and around the world will commemorate Palestinian Land Day with massive protests against Israeli land confiscation, imprisonment of the Gaza Strip and illegal and wanton use of military force against civilian populations.

Palestinian Land Day marks the anniversary of a non-violent protest in 1976, following the Israeli government’s seizure of thousands of acres of Palestinian land to annex for the Jewish state.

At that time, protests against the land confiscation were also met by deadly force imposed by the Israeli police, who killed six unarmed Palestinian protesters.

Since the Great March of Return began on March 30th, 2019, over 240 Palestinians have been killed, and over 28,000 wounded by Israeli forces.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided, on Thursday, to deploy reinforcement forces along the Gaza borders following a security briefing.

According to Hebrew-language news outlets, after consulting with Israeli security officials, Netanyahu decided to send deploy reinforcement forces, including reservist soldiers, and artillery battalion to the Gaza borders.

Sources pointed out that the number of reinforcements forces would be tripled, in addition to a large number of additional military vehicles, bulldozers, warplanes, autopilot aircrafts, and air ambulances.

Earlier this week, Netanyahu was due to appear in person at the AIPAC, the largest pro-Israel lobby in the US, conference in Washington, however, cut his trip short to deal with recent escalation in Gaza, during which seven Palestinians were injured, 13 families were left homeless, and 30 buildings were completely destroyed.

In satellite address from Tel Aviv City, in central Israel, Netanyahu told the annual conference of AIPAC that Israel will "do whatever is necessary to defend our people and to defend our state."

A Palestinian young man on Wednesday evening suffered a bullet injury during his participation in a nighttime protest staged in the east of Jabalia, north of the besieged Gaza Strip.

The health ministry in Gaza said that a young man was wounded by Israeli gunfire in east of Jabalia.

Many others also suffered from their exposure to tear gas fumes.

A group of Gazan young men last night managed to reach the security fence on the eastern border of Jabalia, where they set off fireworks, flashed laser beams at Israeli military posts and chanted national slogans.

In response, the Israeli occupation forces fired live ammunition and tear gas at the protesters.

A renewed wave of Israeli airstrikes targeted different areas of Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Tuesday evening, prompting the Palestinian resistance to respond by rocket fire.

A reporter for the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that an Israeli warplane bombed the new seaport in the west of Khan Younis.

He also said that Israeli warplanes waged several airstrikes on resistance sites in the east of Khan Younis, especially al-Yarmouk site, adding that the attacks caused widespread panic among the civilians in Gaza.

A Palestinian youth was shot and injured, by Israeli fire, to the east of al-Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip, said medical sources.

An 18-year-old Palestinian was shot in the foot with a rubber-coated steel bullet after Israeli forces, stationed along the barbed-wire fence between Gaza and Israel, opened fire toward a group of Palestinians.

Official says IDF given 'the last word'; remarks come shortly after Netanyahu lands in Israel from Washington; urgent security meeting to be convened within next hour

A senior source in Jerusalem on Tuesday dismissed claims by Palestinian officials that a ceasefire has been reached between Israel and Hamas, warning that the Jewish state was planning further strikes on the terror group that rules the Gaza Strip. "There is no agreement regarding a ceasefire, we are prepared to strike with even harder blows," the source said.

The remarks were made shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu landed in Israel after cutting short his trip to Washington following a meeting with President Donald Trump. Netanyahu was to convene a security meeting at Defense Ministry HQ in Tel Aviv shorty after landing.

"The prime minister has been updated on the latest developments during the flight and was in constant contact with the IDF chief of staff." the source said. "The instruction was to continue the strikes, the last word has to remain with Israel. Hamas has made various proposals for a ceasefire through intermediaries, and even offered to stop the clashes on the Gaza border," the source added. Meanwhile, Hamas said they are cancelling all demonstrations along the security fence in light of “the security situation.”

During the meeting with Trump on Monday, Netanyahu said Israel would "respond forcefully to this wanton aggression," adding that, "after this meeting, I will return home ahead of schedule to lead the people of Israel and the soldiers of Israel."Gaza militants fired at least 100 rockets into southern Israel and Israeli aircraft carried out hundreds of strikes in the Hamas-ruled territory late Monday and early Tuesday, in the latest round of cross-border fighting between the two sides.

The latest round of violence began early Monday when seven Israelis, including an infant, were wounded when a house in a moshav northeast of Tel Aviv was directly hit by a long-range rocket fired from Gaza by what the IDF said were Hamas operatives.The Israeli military said it was a self-manufactured rocket with a range of 120 kilometers (75 miles), making it one of the deepest strikes ever carried out by Hamas.

Palestinian Labor Minister Mofeed al-Hasaina has reported, Tuesday, that the Israeli bombing on Gaza, which started on Monday evening, has destroyed 30 civilian residential units, and caused damage to 500 others.

In a press briefing, al-Hasaina said that engineers and workers of the Labor Ministry have started since morning hours, Tuesday, assessing the damage caused by extensive Israeli bombings on Gaza.

He added that the teams started reopening roads that were closed by debris of bombed homes, and buildings.

Al-Hasaina also stated that the Ministry is conducting all needed efforts, including coordination with international institutions, to ease the suffering of the Palestinian people in the besieged and impoverished Gaza Strip.

The Ad-Dameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association issued a statement condemning Israel’s serious escalation on Gaza, and its ongoing violations of international law, especially international humanitarian laws.

Ad-Dameer added that this latest escalation is the most violent since Israel’s offensive on the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2014, and called on the International Community to end its silence and intervene to end these serious crimes against the civilian population.

It stated that the Israeli army started its latest offensive of the Gaza Strip on Monday evening, March 25th, 2019, by carrying out more than 50 air strikes, targeting not only sites used by army resistance groups, but also dozens of civilian homes, apartment and commercial buildings, in addition to agricultural lands and structures, causing serious damage and dozens of injuries.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) said that the recent Israeli air raids on the besieged Gaza Strip displaced 13 Palestinian families of 70 individuals, including 44 children and 14 women.

According to the Center , those families spent their night outdoors in the cold.

Dozens of aerial attacks targeted different areas of Gaza on Monday and Tuesday, causing widespread destruction to civilian infrastructure and facilities and injuring at least 10 citizens.

Tentative clam has been reigning over the besieged Gaza Strip after the Israeli occupation army continued to attack Gaza last night and at dawn Tuesday despite the ceasefire that was announced by Egypt and UN.

According to the government media center in Gaza, 50 airstrikes in total were waged on Monday and Tuesday by Israeli warplanes on apartment buildings, civilian facilities, agricultural plots of land and resistance sites.

At least 10 citizens suffered injuries during those aerial attacks, which also caused considerable destruction to civilian property.

The Omar Ibn Abdul-Aziz Mosque in Beit Hanoun also went up in flames following an airstrike.

The Israeli occupation army violated the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and continued to carry out aerial and artillery attacks last night and at dawn Tuesday on several targets.

Correspondents for the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) reported renewed airstrikes on different areas of Gaza, saying the Israeli attacks started, following the agreed ceasefire, at 10:50 pm on Monday and continued until 05:50 pm on Tuesday.

Such Israeli violation happened after Egyptian mediators intervened and announced a ceasefire starting at 10 o’clock on Monday night between the Palestinian resistance factions and Israel.

The resistance factions in Gaza also asserted last night, through their joint

operations room, that they would respect the ceasefire as long as the Israeli side did not violate it.

Earlier on Monday, five hours of Israeli aerial attacks caused widespread destruction in civilian areas and to infrastructure belonging to the resistance, and wounded many citizens.

Israeli warplanes also targeted the office of Hamas political chief Ismail Haneyya, the headquarters of the internal security apparatus, and an insurance and investment company.